Mahmoud Abbas has been making diplomatic efforts on the international stage and within the Arab world to gain legitimacy and support for his return to governing Gaza after the war.
However, opposition to his leadership is not limited to Israel, which rejects the PA’s rule due to its support for terrorism.
It appears that Arab leaders also recognize the changing reality and believe that Abbas’s rule is coming to an end.
On February 21, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a closed meeting with Arab leaders to discuss former U.S. President Donald Trump’s migration plan for Gaza and preparations for the post-war period, but Abbas was entirely excluded from the discussion.
According to senior Israeli security officials, this exclusion is a clear indication of Abbas’s declining status in the Arab world and suggests that Arab leaders expect his imminent departure from the political stage.
Abbas’s absence from such a crucial summit—where critical deliberations took place regarding the future of the Palestinian people in Gaza—suggests that a gradual process of sidelining the PA from any potential governance in Gaza has begun, especially given Israel’s opposition to PA control and the support it receives from President Trump.
The PA is also widely perceived as corrupt in the Arab world.
Recently, Egypt and donor countries have refused to grant the PA direct control over funds designated for Gaza’s reconstruction due to concerns over “lack of transparency”—in other words, fears of embezzlement, given past instances of donor funds being misappropriated by the PA.
Security sources indicate that there are signs the Arab world is aligning with the previous U.S. administration’s stance under Joe Biden, which advocated for restructuring the Palestinian political system, revitalizing the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and replacing the aging Abbas, who is now 89.
On February 15, Abbas attended the 38th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
However, according to senior Fatah officials, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and other high-ranking African leaders completely ignored his presence—another sign that his political end is near.
There are also signs of tension within the PA leadership.
Hussein al-Sheikh, a close associate of Abbas and Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee, was dismissed from his role as Minister of Civil Affairs and replaced by Ayman Kandil.
This internal discord is further fueled by Abbas’s intention to present a new “PA vision for addressing current challenges” at the upcoming Arab League Summit, where he will officially announce another delay in Palestinian presidential and parliamentary elections—postponing them by at least another year “due to circumstances.”
Senior PA officials have criticized Abbas, accusing him of stalling to remain in power while circumventing the Palestinian public’s growing demand for immediate elections to replace him.
Despite his advanced age, Abbas continues to maneuver politically to retain his position. However, security officials believe he is holding onto power solely thanks to a corrupt inner circle of senior Fatah officials who benefit from the privileges of his rule.
Nonetheless, his time is running out. According to their assessment, Abbas is on his way to an early retirement, and Israel is also preparing for his departure from the political scene.
